UK: Worldpay seals £8b merger with US rival Vantiv

US credit card processing company Vantiv secured a deal to buy British-based rival Worldpay for £8 billion (US$10.4 billion) in a bid to create a US$29 billion global payments powerhouse.

Vantiv’s move, one of the biggest takeovers of a British firm since last year’s Brexit vote, is part of a wave of payments company mergers as consumers move away from cash transactions to digital payments.

Companies such as Vantiv with a strong presence in the United States are scrambling to establish a global footprint in the fast-evolving payments industry.

Once a backwater of banking, the sector is now both lucrative and fast-growing, but also faces competition from newcomers trying to disrupt the way merchants are paid.

Other recent deals in the payment sector include Britain’s Paysafe Group backing a £3 billion ($US3.9 billion) takeover offer from a consortium of Blackstone BX and CVC Capital Partners and French payments specialist Ingenico making a €1.5 billion (US$1.8 billion) swoop on Swedish rival Bambora.

Although Vantiv’s deal was first announced on July 5, it has taken several weeks to conclude, with the deadline for a formal offer extended twice as Vantiv and Worldpay haggled over governance and safeguarding British jobs.

Full Content: Financial Times

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